The Raspberries: Side Three
Ben Edmonds, Phonograph Record, 1973
MENTION THE RASPBERRIES, and right away you're caught in a crossfire. In one corner are those (a few over-zealous rock critics and enough real kids to make the rest nervous) who could drive anybody up the wall with their boorish insistence that the Raspberries are the one true path to rock & roll salvation. In the other are the FM nazis and progressive pinheads who'd have you believe that simplicity is the enemy and AM radio a threat. But in the unbending self-righteousness with which they rush to make their point, both factions manage to miss it completely. In the middle of all this are the Raspberries, a good band that is progressing with enough intelligent self-evaluation to indicate that what is now good might one day be great.
Total word count of piece: 614